We went to Chorlton and Whalley Range Green Festival on Saturday and ran an activity to help people engage with us. We took some of the ideas that underpin “official” thinking on devolution and economic development in the city region and added in some alternative ideas that underpin our own thinking. People had 5 votes which they could distribute among them. Here are the results of this small and unscientific survey.

Social solidarity – being together, caring for and supporting each other and working collectively for good.

22

Equalities & Social justice – building a fairer society with much smaller differences in wealth, income and well-being.

Democratic accountability – ensuring our leaders reflect our interests and views and account for what they are doing through a variety of channels including public meetings.

13

Locally sourced food – more of it produced and processed locally by people, co-ops, SME’s.

19

Scientific or not, the results are of some interest since they indicate that for this audience (not all of whom were stereotypical environmentalists) at least, a society that protects its environment while increasing levels of social solidarity and economic and social resilience matter more than the conventional notions of economic growth and jockeying for position in an international competition.

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